k.d. lang, Meet Alice; Alice, Meet k.d. Lang (Part Three)
December 7, 2012
k.d. lang told Alice she plans to rest. “I’ve been on tour for eighteen months,” she said. “I’m tired.”
Because of her poor hearing, Alice understood her to be announcing her retirement. “You can’t stop singing!”
It took some backtracking, but this frightful moment got straightened out. Rest for a spell but not retirement. They moved on to Tony Bennett.
Alice knows that k.d. lang and Tony Bennett made a CD together a while back. Before this visit, I’d tried to help Alice hear their songs because she would have enjoyed them, especially their version of “It’s a Wonderful World,” which Alice calls “Michael’s song” because he loved it and wanted it played at his funeral, which it was. (More about Michael here.) We had even tried listening on my iPad, but it just didn’t work.
She had seen Mr. Bennett on television recently though, and she leaned toward k.d., eager to share a tender morsel of gossip. “Did you know he sings to his dog?”
Tony B. and his lucky dog.
Animal lover k.d. lang was amused but did not seem surprised by this information.
Alice was suddenly struck again by the marvel before her. “k.d. lang is here!” she said, and then she sat back in her chair and moved on to yet another musician. “I’m almost embarrassed to say it, but I do like Lawrence Welk.”
k.d. lit up. “So do I!” She bent forward at the waist as if suddenly liberated from holding this enthusiasm in for so long and leaned even closer to Alice, the greatest display of camaraderie she’d shown so far.
Alice looked stunned. “You do?”
k.d. nodded. Yes indeed, it was true. “Where is he from?” she asked. “Vienna? Alsace-Lorraine?”
Alice wrinkled her brow at these exotic locations. “North Dakota,” she said. He’d been born on a farm down the road from her own prairie town. His people spoke American English with an unusual accent, a Russian/German blend, different from most other Germans or Russians in the state because they’d started in Germany, moved to Russia, and then emigrated to the U.S.
The farm house where Lawrence Welk was born.
.
Alice told a brief version of her encounter with Lawrence Welk when he was a young musician, just starting out. “I was a little girl,” she said, “and he came over from his parents’ farm outside of Strasburg and played the accordion at the opera house. He stood up on this little stage. Nobody had ever heard of him. One of the townspeople got up there and played the piano alongside him. Then during one song, she kept playing the piano but he came down off the stage and walked up to my sister, LaRue, and asked her to dance.”
Her audience nodded, impressed.
“LaRue was maybe fifteen at the time,” Alice said.
LaRue
“I think,” Alice continued, “that may have been the first time he did that, and then it became his trademark, you know, always coming out into the audience and asking someone to dance with him.” (For more of the story, see “The Accordion Player.”)
Alice exclaimed over this small town boy who had gone on to such success, even though here in front of her sat someone from an equally small town with an even larger audience.
But who’s counting numbers of fans accrued after rising like a giant plumed bird out of a tiny nest on the prairie? k.d. lang certainly didn’t appear to be.
The topic changed. Alice is interested in all women of her age group. She wanted to know about k.d.’s mother. How old was she? Where was she? How was she doing?
She is fine and she is 90, which to Alice now seems like a distant age. The other day she asked how old one of her nieces was, and when I told her she was 43, she laughed. Such a number! It was almost ridiculous, a faint mark on a long-ago page, all but forgotten.
k.d. talked a bit about her mother’s current life and then we moved on to the subject of Canada which, she informed Alice, is America’s biggest trading partner. Did Alice know this?
No, she did not. “We never hear about Canada,” she said. “We hear more about Mexico. But no, I’m sure most Americans don’t know that.”
“I think it’s okay with the Canadians that Americans don’t know that,” k.d. said wryly. Quiet Canada. May it continue to do its prolific trade with boisterous America in peace.
I knew Alice was interested in the conversation, but when she looked down at her hands for a moment it occurred to me that she’s really not used to talking for such a long time. She looked back up at k.d., who still sat calm and relaxed, ready to continue or to do whatever Alice wanted.
“Oh honey,” Alice said, “thank you so much for coming. It was so nice of you.”
We two youngsters took our cue and rose at once from our chairs.
I took this photograph:
k.d. and Alice said good-bye, and I escorted Alice’s guest back out to the lobby. On the way, we passed the new coffee shop with its new name on a freshly painted sign
“There it is,” k.d. lang said, smiling. “The Village Cup.”
And there’s our Alice, snug in her apartment at The Place, head spinning and spirit flying—even now, a week later. Michael (and Louis Armstrong) were right. It’s a wonderful world.
For how this visit came about, see k.d. lang, Meet Alice; Alice, Meet k.d. lang (Part One).
Part Two is here.
December 7, 2012 at 11:43 am
I love reading your stories as my work day break – they always brighten my day! Long live the prairie gals!
December 7, 2012 at 12:17 pm
I’m so glad that Alice’s world is a moment of rest for you. Thank you, as always, for being here with us, Kerry.
December 7, 2012 at 11:45 am
Thank you for sharing the whole beautiful story! I appreciate you and the spark & tender magic that your writing has brought into my life!
Dr. Cara
December 7, 2012 at 11:52 am
Cara, if it weren’t for you, this wonderful visit would not have happened. Thank you so much.
For those who don’t know the role Dr. Clark played in this meeting, please see Part One.
Alice and her roses and her thoughts on the visit coming soon…
December 7, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Andrea, one part of my pleasure in reading your blog is simply in appreciating your language: 43 “a faint mark on a long-ago page, all but forgotten,” “she bent forward at the waist as if suddenly liberated from holding this enthusiasm in for so long.” What a rare treat, to keep encountering your delightful mother and your narrative about her life, all delivered in dewy-fresh language. Thanks for all of it!
December 7, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Thanks so much. It’s really so kind of you to let me know you appreciate the work.
December 7, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Thank you Andrea, Cara and kd for such a wonderful story and a wonderful moment.
December 7, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Thanks for coming to read about Alice, Sandra.
December 7, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Ohhhhh, what a lovely story of Alice and k.d.! I’m grinning ear-to-ear. Thank you!!!!
December 7, 2012 at 12:58 pm
You are so welcome, Veronica. Thank you for coming by and grinning away with us.
December 7, 2012 at 1:15 pm
My own mom would have been thrilled to meet kd as well. She too was a Lawrence Welk fan, but grew up in the hills of Missouri, as did I. We grew up with country music, and mom loved kd’s Absolute Torch & Twang album the best, I think. Mom loved to dance, and was a yodeler. She and my dad loved to square dance when they were young, he would call the dances if no one else was there to do it, calling as they danced.
December 7, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Have you seen k.d. lang yodel? If not, go here for a very old and charming video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E3WYEfHjQU
She says she’s wearing a jacket she found in Hank Snow’s garbage can.
Thank you, Sandra, for that image of your parents dancing while your dad calls out the directions. Lovely!
December 7, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I love that yodeling and the young kd. Then I saw the more recent interview. k daddy. That’s who I want to meet.
December 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Well dear Sandra, I hope your wishes come true.
December 7, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Nice photo of those two- Alice and K.D. !! They look like they have known each other for a long time already!
December 7, 2012 at 2:14 pm
It’s that gray and black Portland style, but they both look quite lovely in those colors.
December 7, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Don’t you just love it when you ask for a little magic and you get magic beyond your wildest dreams? I love that Alice ended the visit when the time was right for her. And rested into the wonder of having a dream she didn’t even know she had met beyond her wildest. It is a wonderful world.
December 12, 2012 at 9:35 pm
So it is.
December 7, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Just the most heartwarming story ever — thank you for sharing it with us.
December 8, 2012 at 2:06 am
Well, I will have to broaden my reality again to include that K.D. likes Lawrence Welk! The last conversation I had with my Aunt Bonnie before she died was that “they” had put her to bed too early, that she still wanted to be watching TV. When I asked her what she wanted to be watching, she said Lawrence Welk. We hung up, and I, who was very grateful that I would not have to watch it, called back to her version of The Place and asked if they could help my aunt get to see more TV that night and could they possibly find some Lawrence Welk for her to watch. The lady seemed very pleased with the project.
December 12, 2012 at 9:40 pm
You did right by your Aunt Bonnie. Lawrence Welk is a regular Saturday night date for many at Alice’s residence and probably thousands of others.
The help in these places changes so often that the people do become a sort of vague “They.” It seems Alice just learns the name of someone new and that person is gone, replaced by another face, another new name to learn and try to hold on to.
December 8, 2012 at 3:55 am
thanks so much for sharing that. you are also extra special for helping that happen and she’s lucky to have you. happy holidays and so glad your dreams came true. may she and you see k.d. lang on tour soon.
all the best, janina (mswatcher)
)
December 12, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Happy holidays, Janina. I hope you get to a k.d. lang concert when she goes back on tour.
December 8, 2012 at 9:49 am
Andrea- this is really the most wonderful story. I can almost see an entire cartoon book of these 3 posts!! thank you.
December 12, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Thank you, Scrantz.
December 8, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Fantastic! And the picture you snapped of Alice and k.d is priceless.:-)
December 12, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Two beautiful women.
December 8, 2012 at 2:36 pm
I was looking forward as I read Parts One and Two, hoping and hoping there would be a photo of k.d. and Alice in Part Three. What a pleasure to be reminded with such a delightful story that the world can be so malleable that we can make wishes come true for our loved ones. Thank you Andrea!
December 12, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Thanks for hanging in there for Part Three, Janina. Dr. Clark with her Tweet is the one who made this wish come true. I really can’t take any credit, but am very happy with the result.
December 9, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Reading this has been such a true pleasure. My mother would have loved kd, who obviously has such lovely manners and such sensitivity. The picture of the two of them together was really very fine. Thank you for all of it !
December 12, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Welcome to the blog, Jack. I’m glad you enjoyed these posts and hope you’ll stick around for more about Alice.
December 9, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Well worth the wait for this wonderful world story, Andrea. A gem…
December 10, 2012 at 11:07 am
Lovely early Christmas gift you gave us with this story!
December 12, 2012 at 9:47 pm
That’s a kind thing to say, Andira. Thanks!
December 11, 2012 at 9:11 pm
A wonderful story! Now I love k.d. even more than I did before.
What a sweet, sweet thing you did for your mom!
December 12, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Glad to hear you’re amping up the love for k.d. lang, Denise. She deserves all the love from fans that she receives. Truly a great person.
December 11, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I’m behind on my reading, but glad to finally get to Part 3! This is the most wonderful story! I’ve been a big k.d. fan since I first heard “Constant Craving”, and this story just confirms what I always suspected: that k.d. is a kind, down-to-earth human being.
What a wonderful treat for Alice. I can’t say that my mom would be too impressed by anyone famous. Though, to be fair, I’ve never asked her. Perhaps I will….
My mom, who just turned 89, might not be impressed with Celebrity, but, I think like many older people, they appreciate those who take the time to talk to them as if they’re still a viable person. One of the toughest things about watching someone grow so old is seeing how many people dismiss them, simply because they think they’re dumb as well as old. So kudos to k.d. for bringing some joy to Alice.
In case you don’t post again before the holidays, Best Wishes, to you and Alice, for a holiday full of love.
December 12, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Hey John, thank you for stopping by. I’m not surprised you’re a k.d. lang fan.
Like your mom, I don’t know that Alice would be impressed by many celebrities either. If I’d brought Lady Gagy by and Alice would have locked the door. She’s always been in enthralled by k.d.’s voice, though. Meeting her is a dream (that she didn’t even know she had) come true.
There’s a follow-up post coming soon, if I can just get it finished. So yes, more before the holidays, but I’m sending big love back to you and your mama and Julian and the pups.
December 12, 2012 at 9:23 pm
A truly lovely story, I’m not surprised by k.d., her smile is as warm and open as the sun-kissed prairie, it only stands to reason that her heart is as well. Thank you so much for sharing this story. Best wishes to Alice that she experiences nothing but joy for the remainder of her days.
December 12, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Thanks for coming by, Lea. And thanks for your sweet message for Alice. I’ll pass it on.
December 20, 2012 at 2:59 pm
What a wonderful commitment you’ve made to filling your mom’s world with love and thoughtfulness. Thanks for letting me enjoy it with you.